Dame Margaret Hodge has eye on tax advisers

Dame Margaret: “I just don’t believe that Google is paying a fair amount in tax”ALAMY

Government crosshairs should be trained firmly on advisers as ministers crack down on tax avoidance, the former chairwoman of the public accounts committee argued this week.

Dame Margaret Hodge’s call for tougher action on advisers could leave specialist law firms and accountants outraged — along with her wish for more transparency in corporate tax affairs. Speaking at a Times Law Brief Premium event this week, she said that lawyers and accountants should be held accountable for advising on evasion schemes and the government should “make advisers far more culpable than they currently are”. “We need to be much, much tougher on advisers.”

I find it unacceptable practice that they only abide by the letter of the law

Dame Margaret, who chaired the committee from 2010 to 2015 and brought tax avoidance schemes into the spotlight, said that transparency was still…

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